NORFOLK, Va. — Deja Taylor, the mother of the 6-year-old student accused of shooting teacher Abby Zwerner at Richneck Elementary School in January, has plead guilty to to illegally obtaining and possessing a firearm and making a false statement on a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) form to purchase the firearm.
On January 6, 2023, a 6-year-old shot and severely injured a first grade Richneck Elementary School teacher with a Taurus, Model PT111, G2A, 9mm, semiautomatic handgun, court documents explain.
Shortly thereafter, agents from the ATF conducted a trace on the firearm used in that incident, which revealed that the firearm was purchased by Deja Nicole Taylor, 25, on July 19, 2022.
On January 19, federal agents executeda court-ordered search of Taylor’s home, during which agents discovered narcotics packaging, narcotics paraphernalia, marijuana, marijuana edible packaging, a box of ammunition, and a black firearm barrel lock, court documents explain.
Agents also searched the home of Taylor’s mother, where Taylor was residing at the time, and found about 24.5 grams of marijuana, marijuana edible packaging, and marijuana paraphernalia. A search of Taylor’s phone revealed numerous text messages illustrating the pervasive scope of Taylor’s marijuana use. A lockbox was not found in either of the residences, nor was a trigger lock or key to a trigger lock ever found, court records showed.
The investigation also uncovered a police report from the Williamsburg Police Department which claims that on Saturday April 3, 2021, Taylor was pulled over during a traffic stop in a vehicle with two other persons, including her child, who was 4 years old at the time. The Williamsburg Police officer conducting the stop say that they detected an overwhelming smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle and marijuana was in plain view inside the vehicle.
Several marijuana edibles that looked like rice treats were found inside the vehicle directly next to the child, police records claim. A backpack belonging to another person in the vehicle was found to contain numerous individually packaged marijuana rice treats, gummies containing THC, suspected crack cocaine, two large bags of marijuana, two packages of “BackpackBoyz” marijuana from California, suspected oxycodone pills, green plant material, a smoking device, and more edibles.
Digital scales were also found inside the vehicle. Taylor’s purse was searched, and marijuana edibles and three unknown white pills were found. During that traffic stop, Taylor was advised of her Miranda rights, and she denied all knowledge of drugs inside the vehicle, according to police reports detailed in court.
On July 19, 2022, Taylor purchased the Taurus handgun used in the shooting. She was required by law to complete the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Firearms Transaction Record, ATF Form 4473. She falsely stated on this form that she was not an unlawful user of marijuana or other controlled substances.
Taylor pleaded guilty to being an unlawful user of controlled substance in possession of a firearm and making a false statement during purchase of a firearm and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 18.
She faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Craig Kailimai, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Washington Field Division, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller accepted the plea.
